Create a VM from existing disk

Create a disk from a snapshot and attach the disk to a new VM.

Explore further

For detailed documentation that includes this code sample, see the following:

• Move a VM instance between zones or regions
• Restore from a snapshot

Code sample

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Go API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1/computepb"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
)

// createWithExistingDisks create a new VM instance using selected disks.
// The first disk in diskNames will be used as boot disk.
func createWithExistingDisks(
	w io.Writer,
	projectID, zone, instanceName string,
	diskNames []string,
) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
	// diskNames := []string{"boot_disk", "disk1", "disk2"}

	ctx := context.Background()
	instancesClient, err := compute.NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstancesRESTClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer instancesClient.Close()

	disksClient, err := compute.NewDisksRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewDisksRESTClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer disksClient.Close()

	disks := [](*computepb.Disk){}

	for _, diskName := range diskNames {
		reqDisk := &computepb.GetDiskRequest{
			Project: projectID,
			Zone:    zone,
			Disk:    diskName,
		}

		disk, err := disksClient.Get(ctx, reqDisk)
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to get disk: %w", err)
		}

		disks = append(disks, disk)
	}

	attachedDisks := [](*computepb.AttachedDisk){}

	for _, disk := range disks {
		attachedDisk := &computepb.AttachedDisk{
			Source: proto.String(disk.GetSelfLink()),
		}
		attachedDisks = append(attachedDisks, attachedDisk)
	}

	attachedDisks[0].Boot = proto.Bool(true)

	instanceResource := &computepb.Instance{
		Name:        proto.String(instanceName),
		Disks:       attachedDisks,
		MachineType: proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone)),
		NetworkInterfaces: []*computepb.NetworkInterface{
			{
				Name: proto.String("global/networks/default"),
			},
		},
	}

	req := &computepb.InsertInstanceRequest{
		Project:          projectID,
		Zone:             zone,
		InstanceResource: instanceResource,
	}

	op, err := instancesClient.Insert(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create instance: %w", err)
	}

	if err = op.Wait(ctx); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance created\n")

	return nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Java API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Disk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.DisksClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;

public class CreateInstanceWithExistingDisks {

  public static void main(String[] args)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException, TimeoutException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.

    // Project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
    String projectId = "YOUR_PROJECT_ID";

    // Name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
    String zone = "europe-central2-b";

    // Name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
    String instanceName = "YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME";

    // Array of disk names to be attached to the new virtual machine.
    // First disk in this list will be used as the boot disk.
    List<String> diskNames = List.of("your-boot-disk", "another-disk1", "another-disk2");

    createInstanceWithExistingDisks(projectId, zone, instanceName, diskNames);
  }

  // Create a new VM instance using the selected disks.
  // The first disk in diskNames will be used as the boot disk.
  public static void createInstanceWithExistingDisks(String projectId, String zone,
      String instanceName, List<String> diskNames)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException, TimeoutException {

    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the `instancesClient.close()` method on the client to safely
    // clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create();
        DisksClient disksClient = DisksClient.create()) {

      if (diskNames.size() == 0) {
        throw new Error("At least one disk should be provided");
      }

      // Create the list of attached disks to be used in instance creation.
      List<AttachedDisk> attachedDisks = new ArrayList<>();
      for (int i = 0; i < diskNames.size(); i++) {
        String diskName = diskNames.get(i);
        Disk disk = disksClient.get(projectId, zone, diskName);
        AttachedDisk attDisk = null;

        if (i == 0) {
          // Make the first disk in the list as the boot disk.
          attDisk = AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
              .setSource(disk.getSelfLink())
              .setBoot(true)
              .build();
        } else {
          attDisk = AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
              .setSource(disk.getSelfLink())
              .build();
        }
        attachedDisks.add(attDisk);
      }

      // Create the instance.
      Instance instance = Instance.newBuilder()
          .setName(instanceName)
          // Add the attached disks to the instance.
          .addAllDisks(attachedDisks)
          .setMachineType(String.format("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone))
          .addNetworkInterfaces(
              NetworkInterface.newBuilder().setName("global/networks/default").build())
          .build();

      // Create the insert instance request.
      InsertInstanceRequest insertInstanceRequest = InsertInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(projectId)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstanceResource(instance)
          .build();

      // Wait for the create operation to complete.
      Operation response = instancesClient.insertAsync(insertInstanceRequest)
          .get(3, TimeUnit.MINUTES);

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance creation failed!" + response);
        return;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());

    }
  }
}

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Node.js API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const zone = 'europe-central2-b';
// const instanceName = 'YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME';
// const diskNames = ['boot_disk', 'disk1', 'disk2'];

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

async function createWithExistingDisks() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();
  const disksClient = new compute.DisksClient();

  if (diskNames.length < 1) {
    throw new Error('At least one disk should be provided');
  }

  const disks = [];
  for (const diskName of diskNames) {
    const [disk] = await disksClient.get({
      project: projectId,
      zone,
      disk: diskName,
    });
    disks.push(disk);
  }

  const attachedDisks = [];

  for (const disk of disks) {
    attachedDisks.push({
      source: disk.selfLink,
    });
  }

  attachedDisks[0].boot = true;

  const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    instanceResource: {
      name: instanceName,
      disks: attachedDisks,
      machineType: `zones/${zone}/machineTypes/n1-standard-1`,
      networkInterfaces: [
        {
          name: 'global/networks/default',
        },
      ],
    },
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // Wait for the create operation to complete.
  while (operation.status !== 'DONE') {
    [operation] = await operationsClient.wait({
      operation: operation.name,
      project: projectId,
      zone: operation.zone.split('/').pop(),
    });
  }

  console.log('Instance created.');
}

createWithExistingDisks();

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Python API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

from __future__ import annotations

import re
import sys
from typing import Any
import warnings

from google.api_core.extended_operation import ExtendedOperation
from google.cloud import compute_v1


def get_disk(project_id: str, zone: str, disk_name: str) -> compute_v1.Disk:
    """
    Gets a disk from a project.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone where the disk exists.
        disk_name: name of the disk you want to retrieve.
    """
    disk_client = compute_v1.DisksClient()
    return disk_client.get(project=project_id, zone=zone, disk=disk_name)


def wait_for_extended_operation(
    operation: ExtendedOperation, verbose_name: str = "operation", timeout: int = 300
) -> Any:
    """
    Waits for the extended (long-running) operation to complete.

    If the operation is successful, it will return its result.
    If the operation ends with an error, an exception will be raised.
    If there were any warnings during the execution of the operation
    they will be printed to sys.stderr.

    Args:
        operation: a long-running operation you want to wait on.
        verbose_name: (optional) a more verbose name of the operation,
            used only during error and warning reporting.
        timeout: how long (in seconds) to wait for operation to finish.
            If None, wait indefinitely.

    Returns:
        Whatever the operation.result() returns.

    Raises:
        This method will raise the exception received from `operation.exception()`
        or RuntimeError if there is no exception set, but there is an `error_code`
        set for the `operation`.

        In case of an operation taking longer than `timeout` seconds to complete,
        a `concurrent.futures.TimeoutError` will be raised.
    """
    result = operation.result(timeout=timeout)

    if operation.error_code:
        print(
            f"Error during {verbose_name}: [Code: {operation.error_code}]: {operation.error_message}",
            file=sys.stderr,
            flush=True,
        )
        print(f"Operation ID: {operation.name}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
        raise operation.exception() or RuntimeError(operation.error_message)

    if operation.warnings:
        print(f"Warnings during {verbose_name}:\n", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
        for warning in operation.warnings:
            print(f" - {warning.code}: {warning.message}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)

    return result


def create_instance(
    project_id: str,
    zone: str,
    instance_name: str,
    disks: list[compute_v1.AttachedDisk],
    machine_type: str = "n1-standard-1",
    network_link: str = "global/networks/default",
    subnetwork_link: str = None,
    internal_ip: str = None,
    external_access: bool = False,
    external_ipv4: str = None,
    accelerators: list[compute_v1.AcceleratorConfig] = None,
    preemptible: bool = False,
    spot: bool = False,
    instance_termination_action: str = "STOP",
    custom_hostname: str = None,
    delete_protection: bool = False,
) -> compute_v1.Instance:
    """
    Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        disks: a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks
            you want to attach to your new instance.
        machine_type: machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the
            following format: "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
            For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
        network_link: name of the network you want the new instance to use.
            For example: "global/networks/default" represents the network
            named "default", which is created automatically for each project.
        subnetwork_link: name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use.
            This value uses the following format:
            "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
        internal_ip: internal IP address you want to assign to the new instance.
            By default, a free address from the pool of available internal IP addresses of
            used subnet will be used.
        external_access: boolean flag indicating if the instance should have an external IPv4
            address assigned.
        external_ipv4: external IPv4 address to be assigned to this instance. If you specify
            an external IP address, it must live in the same region as the zone of the instance.
            This setting requires `external_access` to be set to True to work.
        accelerators: a list of AcceleratorConfig objects describing the accelerators that will
            be attached to the new instance.
        preemptible: boolean value indicating if the new instance should be preemptible
            or not. Preemptible VMs have been deprecated and you should now use Spot VMs.
        spot: boolean value indicating if the new instance should be a Spot VM or not.
        instance_termination_action: What action should be taken once a Spot VM is terminated.
            Possible values: "STOP", "DELETE"
        custom_hostname: Custom hostname of the new VM instance.
            Custom hostnames must conform to RFC 1035 requirements for valid hostnames.
        delete_protection: boolean value indicating if the new virtual machine should be
            protected against deletion or not.
    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    instance_client = compute_v1.InstancesClient()

    # Use the network interface provided in the network_link argument.
    network_interface = compute_v1.NetworkInterface()
    network_interface.network = network_link
    if subnetwork_link:
        network_interface.subnetwork = subnetwork_link

    if internal_ip:
        network_interface.network_i_p = internal_ip

    if external_access:
        access = compute_v1.AccessConfig()
        access.type_ = compute_v1.AccessConfig.Type.ONE_TO_ONE_NAT.name
        access.name = "External NAT"
        access.network_tier = access.NetworkTier.PREMIUM.name
        if external_ipv4:
            access.nat_i_p = external_ipv4
        network_interface.access_configs = [access]

    # Collect information into the Instance object.
    instance = compute_v1.Instance()
    instance.network_interfaces = [network_interface]
    instance.name = instance_name
    instance.disks = disks
    if re.match(r"^zones/[a-z\d\-]+/machineTypes/[a-z\d\-]+$", machine_type):
        instance.machine_type = machine_type
    else:
        instance.machine_type = f"zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machine_type}"

    instance.scheduling = compute_v1.Scheduling()
    if accelerators:
        instance.guest_accelerators = accelerators
        instance.scheduling.on_host_maintenance = (
            compute_v1.Scheduling.OnHostMaintenance.TERMINATE.name
        )

    if preemptible:
        # Set the preemptible setting
        warnings.warn(
            "Preemptible VMs are being replaced by Spot VMs.", DeprecationWarning
        )
        instance.scheduling = compute_v1.Scheduling()
        instance.scheduling.preemptible = True

    if spot:
        # Set the Spot VM setting
        instance.scheduling.provisioning_model = (
            compute_v1.Scheduling.ProvisioningModel.SPOT.name
        )
        instance.scheduling.instance_termination_action = instance_termination_action

    if custom_hostname is not None:
        # Set the custom hostname for the instance
        instance.hostname = custom_hostname

    if delete_protection:
        # Set the delete protection bit
        instance.deletion_protection = True

    # Prepare the request to insert an instance.
    request = compute_v1.InsertInstanceRequest()
    request.zone = zone
    request.project = project_id
    request.instance_resource = instance

    # Wait for the create operation to complete.
    print(f"Creating the {instance_name} instance in {zone}...")

    operation = instance_client.insert(request=request)

    wait_for_extended_operation(operation, "instance creation")

    print(f"Instance {instance_name} created.")
    return instance_client.get(project=project_id, zone=zone, instance=instance_name)


def create_with_existing_disks(
    project_id: str, zone: str, instance_name: str, disk_names: list[str]
) -> compute_v1.Instance:
    """
    Create a new VM instance using selected disks. The first disk in disk_names will
    be used as boot disk.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        disk_names: list of disk names to be attached to the new virtual machine.
            First disk in this list will be used as the boot device.

    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    assert len(disk_names) >= 1
    disks = [get_disk(project_id, zone, disk_name) for disk_name in disk_names]
    attached_disks = []
    for disk in disks:
        adisk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
        adisk.source = disk.self_link
        attached_disks.append(adisk)
    attached_disks[0].boot = True
    instance = create_instance(project_id, zone, instance_name, attached_disks)
    return instance

What's next

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